A fundamental partnership : the experiences of practising teachers as lecturers in a preservice teacher education program

This paper evaluates an innovative university-school partnership in which teacher practitioners work as university lecturers in a regional Australian preservice teacher education program. The essential philosophy of this program encompasses authentic partnerships between the university, schools and other industry employers. The study was motivated by an interest in understanding the experiences and outcomes for the teacher practitioners and in documenting their experiences. Staff members who are currently on contract as university lecturers, as well as teachers who have completed secondments and returned to school settings are surveyed. This paper focuses on suggestions to improve the partnership and future directions for the partnership are discussed.